Boosting Sports Success: How Administrators' Emotional Intelligence Drives Organizational Performance

Abstract

The main goal of this research was to explore how emotional intelligence influences organizational performance in Ethiopian national sports federations, addressing gaps in the literature on sports organizations and developing countries like Ethiopia. The researchers employed a quantitative approach with a correlational design. Data were gathered from 296 administrators using the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale and Kaplan's scale to measure organizational performance. Data analysis was conducted with SPSS version 28 using quantile regression, revealing a positive correlation between overall emotional intelligence and organizational performance (r = 0.621, p < 0.05). Emotional awareness (β = 0.120, p = 0.012) and emotional management (β = 0.114, p = 0.018) had a positive effect on organizational performance. In contrast, social emotional intelligence (β = -0.106, p = 0.025) and relationship management (β = -0.104, p = 0.035) negatively impacted organizational performance. These results emphasize the importance of emotional intelligence in improving governance, fostering resilience, and nurturing athletes, especially when resources are limited, though caution should be exercised in relying on social skills. Practically, we recommend customized emotional intelligence training to help these sports federations stay competitive internationally.